How the Essence of Your Message Determines Your Outcome

“The fastest path to the money.” That is a line from a marketing book I am reading, The 1-Page Marketing Plan by Allan Dib. In his Introduction he starts the first sentence of his book saying, “If I had to summarize the essence of this book in one sentence it would be, “the fastest path to the money.” Dib then explained, “I know for a certainty that this opening sentence will be off-putting to a large number of people and frankly I’d much prefer they read someone else’s business book full of ear-tickling cliches like “follow your passion,” “work hard,” “hire the right people,” blah, blah, blah.”

“I have to buy this book!” That was my reaction only a few pages into the Introduction. That morning as we were heading to the beach I downloaded several sample books on my Kindle. I can’t download stuff from the beach so I wanted to simply check out some titles I might be interested in. The irony is I had accidently purchased the whole book not simply the sample! So, it was a good thing four pages in I decided I need to read the book I already had!

His opening summation of his book, “the fastest path to money,” was what grabbed my attention. He kept my attention in the pages following. Yet if I had not been captivated by his opening would I have bothered to read the book even though I had bought it? I can show you multiple books I have on my Kindle that I never got past the first few pages. What made this book different? He hooked me at the start with the compelling essence of the message of the book. Who doesn’t want a path to money?

So, I started thinking about my ministry. What is the essence of my message? If you are interested scroll to the bottom of this post. Before I get to that let me ask you,

What is the essence of your message? Can you boil it down to a few words? Are those words compelling enough that people want to attend, to serve, and give to your church? Your message, no matter how powerful or needed by the masses, will get lost unless it captures the attention of the masses.

Could you sum up in one short sentence what you are about? I don’t mean some long term pie in the sky statement. Could someone land on your website, social media posts, and say, “Wow! I want to be a part of that?” If not, then they scroll on and probably will never return.

How would you in one short sentence describe the unique mission of your church? DON’T GIVE ME YOUR STALE VISION STATEMENT! I know you guys went away a couple of years ago and hammered out on your knees the cute little phrase you have on your website. I’m am not saying it doesn’t have value but I think if we admit it the value is only internal. Your vision or mission statement gives you and the entire church a track to run on. Yet, think about it, what does it convey to those you are attempting to attract? Does it even mean anything to them? Next, I think we must ask,

Am I accomplishing fulfilling the message I want to communicate? As good as the opening on my new book is, if he doesn’t deliver on the promise then I’ll bail out never to buy another book from him. However, if the book gives me great insight into how to the fastest path to the money then it will be worth the few dollars I paid for it. You have to have a message that captures the heart of your audience but you still must deliver.

My former boss John Maxwell used to say that before you can ask for a hand you have to win the heart. One major reason-giving to the church has been declining for years is that our message is too often boring and stale. We ask for the hand, a gift before we win their heart! My advice is to work on the essence of your message as it will determine your outcome, especially as it relates to giving!

So, what is the essence of what I do? Using my God given gifts, I KEEP CHURCHES OPEN BY KEEPING THEIR OFFERINGS FULL!

By God’s grace, I help put churches on the path to financial stability so that they have the money to do the mission and ministry God has called them to accomplish. Today’s churches are more challenged financially than ever before. The slow drip, drip, drip decline in giving that started in the late 1960s continues to rob churches of the needed funds to fulfill their mission. Now with the onslaught of COVID19 34% of American churches have seen their giving decline this year. By the close of this decade, thousands of once vibrant churches will close their doors because their offerings were not enough to keep them open. The future of many churches is anything but stable and their path forward is questionable. What about your church?

I believe there is a path forward that will secure the future of your church. My team is on that path. Join us! https://acts17generosity.com/memberships/

Mark Brooks – The Stewardship Coach

@stewardshipman